5 Explosive Career Starts

John Chuang

Chuang was a student at Harvard when he and two friends began a Macintosh-equipped desktop publishing business in their dorm rooms. Business boomed and in 1986 they leased some office space in Harvard Square. The following year they altered their business model, calling themselves MacTemps and becoming a staffing agency that specialized in Macintosh-trained temporary employees. By 1991, MacTemps was the 12th-fastest-growing private company in the country.

Today, Chuang is the CEO of MacTemps — long-since renamed Aquent — a $400 million business. He did not, however, drop out of Harvard; not only did Chuang graduate cum laude in 1987, but earned his MBA with honors from Harvard in 1992.

Daymond John

John’s career as a clothier began in New York in 1992, making hats in his mother's basement to sell at neighborhood concerts. Modest success was swift: John recruited three longtime friends, then took out a $100,000 mortgage and began to expand. Shortly thereafter, and with the support of John’s friend LL Cool J, FUBU (an acronym: “For Us, By Us”, meant to represent the localized, urban identity of the apparel and the founders), began to take off, diversifying into shirts, jerseys and other items.

Today, FUBU is an internationally recognized, multimillion dollar sportswear company. John is its CEO and president, but he hasn’t forgotten about his roots: In 1999 he established the FUBU Foundation, the company’s charitable wing, which remains active in a variety of community affairs.

straight out of the gates...

The entrepreneurial spirit is the roulette wheel of the soul. Either it spins within you or it doesn’t. If it does, placing those chips is probably the scariest bet you’ll ever make. Maybe it seems too scary, and that would be understandable — but would it be excusable?

While few see the success these guys are seeing, even losing that bet might make life on the corporate ladder more tolerable. But if you never take it, don’t be surprised when your pension checks feel like you’re getting paid to pass the day in bitterness and regret.